LAWSUIT FILED ON BEHALF OF CHILD HOSPITALIZED WITH HEMOLYTIC UREMIC SYNDROME IN THE KEBAB SHOP E. COLI OUTBREAK

Marler Clark and Quirk Law Firm Sue The Kebab Shop and Olympia Foods Following California E. coli O157 Outbreak Linked to Beef Kofta

LOS ANGELES, May 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 29, 2026, attorneys William D. Marler of Marler Clark, Inc., PS and Trevor Quirk of Quirk Law Firm LLP filed a personal injury lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of Samantha Sabaite and her minor child, J.A.K., arising from a confirmed E. coli O157 infection that left J.A.K. hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening kidney complication.

The defendants are TKS Restaurants, LLC, doing business as The Kebab Shop, a restaurant chain operating in California, Texas, and Florida, and Olympia Food Industries, Inc., the Illinois manufacturer that supplied the raw ground beef kofta served at The Kebab Shop locations.

"I have been litigating E. coli cases for thirty-three years, beginning with the 1993 Jack in the Box outbreak," said attorney William D. Marler. "After decades of improvements in testing and food safety interventions, serious ground beef outbreaks had become increasingly rare. What makes this outbreak alarming is that we are seeing these preventable illnesses return, and once again the victims are disproportionately children."

"J.A.K. ate a kebab at a restaurant and ended up in intensive care on dialysis with seizures," Marler added. "That should never happen in 2026."

The Outbreak

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and local health departments are investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157 linked to beef kofta sold at The Kebab Shop. As of May 19, 2026, nine California residents had been infected with the outbreak strain, including six children. Five people were hospitalized and two developed HUS.

On May 24, 2026, FSIS issued a public health alert after beef kofta samples collected from The Kebab Shop tested positive for E. coli O157. The Kebab Shop had voluntarily removed beef kofta from all locations on May 18. According to investigators, the contaminated product was manufactured by Olympia Foods on January 6, 2026, and distributed to restaurant locations in California, Texas, and Florida.

The Plaintiff

According to the complaint, J.A.K. consumed beef kofta at The Kebab Shop on Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Angeles on or about April 1, 2026. Two days later, he developed symptoms consistent with E. coli infection, including nausea, vomiting, severe fatigue, and bloody diarrhea. On April 6, his mother brought him to the emergency room.

J.A.K. was admitted to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, where testing confirmed Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. As his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to the intensive care unit at UCLA Westwood Hospital and diagnosed with HUS. He required dialysis and blood transfusions and suffered seizures and decreased pancreatic function during his hospitalization. Whole genome sequencing linked his illness to the outbreak strain associated with The Kebab Shop beef kofta.

Legal Claims

The lawsuit alleges Strict Product Liability, Breach of Implied Warranty, Negligence, and Negligence Per Se against both defendants. The complaint alleges the defendants failed to manufacture, supply, and serve food safe for human consumption and violated federal food safety laws and USDA performance standards governing ground beef.

E. Coli O157:H7 and Ground Beef 

E. coli O157 is a dangerous pathogen commonly associated with contaminated ground beef. The bacteria can cause severe illness, including bloody diarrhea and kidney failure, particularly in young children. Approximately 10 percent of infected individuals – most of them children - develop hemolytic uremic syndrome  (HUS), which can result in permanent kidney damage, neurological injury, or death.

The USDA declared E. coli O157 an adulterant in raw ground beef in 1994 following the Jack in the Box outbreak that sickened more than 700 people and killed four children. Proper cooking of ground beef to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the bacteria.

About Marler Clark 

Marler Clark, Inc., PS is a Seattle-based law firm focused exclusively on representing victims of foodborne illness. The firm has litigated cases arising from virtually every major E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and other food safety outbreak in the United States over the past thirty years. William D. Marler is widely recognized as the nation's leading food safety attorney. More information is available at www.marlerclark.com.

SOURCE Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm